Knit article and method of making the same.



R. W. SCOTT.

KNtT ARTiCLE AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED NM26. 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET i.

R. W. SCOTT.

KNIT ARTICLE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.26. 1914.

1,1 50,548. Patented Aug. 17, 191.3.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

ROBERT W. SCOTT, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

KNIT ARTICLE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Application led January 26, 1914.

`of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knit Articles and Methods of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to knit fabrics and the art of making such fabrics, and especially to knit fabrics having areas terminating in selvages or reversals of yarn, which may comprise two or more such areas Voined `by a suture or interloopment.

invention further relates to a fabric cnt` class suitable for stockings and capable: of being made upon ordinary stockingknitting machines, as well as to a stocking having an improved instep and foot, adapted for manufacture upon such machines.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sideelevation of the lower portion of a stocking knit according to my invention; Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modified structure; Fig. 3 is a detail showing in diagram and greatly enlarged the area III of the fabric shown in Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a further modification; Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive are diagrams illustrating the steps in the method of making the fabric of my new stocking; Fig. 10 illustrates a part of the fabric similar to that shown in Fig. 3, but narrowed and widened at shorter intervals; Fig. l1 shows a modified construction in which the joining or uniting loops of the suture-are tucked.

I have shown in Fig. l a stocking in which the most desirable features of a split-foot stocking and my improved characteristics are embodied in such a manner as to enable making upon a machine having necessarily but one 'yarn feed and one knitting cam, though others may be employed if desired. Said stocking may comprise a circular seamless leg L, which may have at the back of the ankle thereof an area H strengthened by the addition of a splicing yarn in the usual manner, the wales at the back of the leg continuing into a narrowedsection N of fabric knit in the usual manner, by reciprocal courses joined at their ends to complemenitallcourses of widened fabric W, for the lee rll`he operation for forming the leg Il, the spliced area H, if employed, and the heel, may be the usual operations of circular knit- Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Ang.. ll', i915..

Serial No. 814,480.

ting. At the beginning of the heel, the knitting having reached the course a, b, c, the needles around the instep half of the tube will as usual be thrown out of action while holding their loops. I have indicated -this stage in the operation in Fig. 5. The heel sections N and W may as usual be'kn'it reciprocally upon first a diminishing and.

then an increasing segment of the needles Y, as illustrated by the numbers and darts of Figs. 5 and 6, the darts pointing away from the center illustrating needles thrown out of action in courses of the order of their numbers, and those pointing in 'the reverse direction illustrating needles returned to action in courses of the order of their numbers. The number of the needles and the relative extent of the narrowing and widening in the diagram figures are illustrative only. The last course of the heel extends around substantially one half of the needles in the plane b, d.

My new stocking may comprise a fashioned selvaged area, as shown at R or R', at the top of the foot. I may form the section R by a narrowing or widening operation of the same character as that for the formation of the heel, but I prefer to extend said area, which is a continuation in texture and color of the leg L, as far toward the toe o f the stocking as possible. The limit in thls d1- rection will be reached when the needles remaining in action for the least courses of area R approach extinction, for instance when only one or two needles remain in action. Narrowing the area R by removing one needle from action at each course as in the heel will extend the fabric of said area from the line a, through only so many courses as there are needlesavailable to be thrown out of action. Such an extension is less desirable than the longer extension which I have illustrated as one embodiment only of my invention, and which I form in the following manner.

Referring now to Fig. 7, having thrown the back half or heel needles Y out of action while retaining their loops on the 'ne d, I reciprocate the needles or yarn-guide and form a knitting wave in the remaining needles in the directions o2, '03. But instead of placing out of action the end needles of the series X `remaining in action at each reciprocal stroke, I permit one or more strokes to occur and courses to be knit between each placingv out of action of the end needles of the series X. The result is a succession of courses of fabric terminating in a free selvage s knit at the same needle. For instance, referring to Fig. 7, the needle at 1 and the needle at 2 may be put out of action on the irst and the second reciprocal strokes, the needles at 5 and at 6 remaining in action until the fifth and sixth reciprocal courses each three courses. The rate of narrowing' or taper of the selvage edge of the area R will be a consequence of the number of reciprocal courses intervening between each recurrent narrowin as will be evident. Havin completed t e area R to the extent desire for instance to line e, f, I now put out of action without casting off their loops the last-active needles indicated at which ma be a narrow group or segment at the middle of the instep series X. For automatic operation, the needles are of a sufiicent number to admit cams for the actuation of the ends of the remaining needles X and all of the needles Y in one series. I now form the complemental remainder S of-the section a, b, ai, e, g, by knitting fabria having a reciprocal selvage s, returned to` or interlooped with the selvage s at the line J, beginning at the last course of the heel on the line b, d. Preferably this area S is symmetrically widened at the same angle or taper as the area R is narrowed, the ed es 0f area R and S being joined at the Wa es omitted from one and added to the other, the terminal loop y of the suppressed wale in area R being penetrated by the initial loop o in the added wale in the area S, the intervening courses of the widened fabric S ending in reversals on 'one needle, forming selvages s2 of the same character as selvage s. A characteristic of a suture so formed is an eyelet-hole w extending past said intervening courses.

Referring now to Fig. 8, one method of knitting the widened area S comprises placing out of action all of the needles X, including those needles bearing the last course of area R, and all the needles which have been successively thrown out of action while bearing the loops y; restoring to action the heel needles Y, and then knitting reciprocal courses on the needles Y, successively adding the needles bearing the loops y to the series in action, until all of the needles are in action except the needles m, and the area S. is of substantially the same length as the area R. Fig. 8 illustrates by numbers and darts the order of restoration of the needles X corresponding to the narrowing of Fig. 7, to result in the fabric shown in Fig. 3. Reduction of the number of reciprocal courses intervening between the course containing loops y and the courses containing loops o to one course pro. duces the fabric shown in Fig. 10, in which the suture therefore is at a greater angle to the direction o f the wales. Other arrangements of the number of intervening selvaged courses within my invention will be obvious without further description. The foot of the stocking having been knit as described to the line e, f, g, I may complete the stocking by knitting a seamless footbody F of any construction or extent, and a seamless toe 'I of any desired form. Fig. 9 illustrates invdiagram the resumption of circular. knitting for the section F, which may be a seamless tube formed of the same yarns as, or a yarn diiferent from, that employed for the area S, or for the heel.

Many modifications of my new stocking will be obvious, but for illustration of speciic instances only I have shown in Fig. 2 a stocking similar to Fig. l, in which the top of the foot is formed of a widened area R', and in which the complemental area S is correspondingly narrowed. The area S is first knit, beginning at the last course of the heel, at the line b, d, the area R following, beginning at the line a, b, the procedure otherwise being the same as for the areas R, S, of the stocking of Fig. 1. It is not essential that the narrowed and widened areas begin and end at the places shown. I may for instance form an intervening section following the heel and instep of seamless tubular knitting, which may be spliced` at the sole in the manner of the section H. In every instance, the fabric area at the top of the foot may be of the same yarn and same length of loop as the leg of the stocking andthe sections S, S may be of a heavy or a multiple yarn, yarn-change being effected at the first course of area S or S', or last course of area R or R. The yarn for the initial course of the area S or S may be a continuation of the yarn of the last course of the section R or R', the run joining the end and beginning loops floating unknit; or the yarn may be severed at the end of one area and given to the needles afresh at the beginning of the next. The eyeletholes in the suture are usually of an `ornamental appearance and of sufiicient strength, but in some cases I may as shown in Fig. 4, apply to the completed stocking lines Aof zig-Zag or other suitable sewing stitches, such as shown at Q, further locking together the selvaged areas and providing ornament of a different character.

In Fig. 11 I have shown a modified form of suture between the narrowed and widened sections, to form which that needle of the wale suppressed for narrowing is so operated as not to cast off, or to tuck, the loop y of a previous course, said needle holding both loops until after it has received loop y2 of the narrowing course, both loops y and y2 being subsequently penetrated by the initial loop o of a widening wale of a widened area such as the area S. This structure partly covers the eyelet hole w, and distributes the strain of the uniting loops among three courses of the usually weaker yarn of the narrowed section.

It will be seen that my new method may be practised and my new article. may be produced either by hand operations familiar toknitters or by machine operations involving no more than selectively rendering idle and active in the described order the needles of any type of knitting machine, which may be provided with needles in either a straight or circular carrier, and have the usual adjuncts for circular knitting, switching needles to active or idle paths, and picking them one or more at a time into and out of range of their actuating devices.

What l claim is:

1. A stocking comprising at the top of the foot a regularly tapered area having selvages at the edges of said area occurring in integral sutures joining the sole portion of said foot and said area.

2. A stocking having an area at the top of the foot narrowed at regular intervals and having selvages at the edges of said area occurring in integral sutures joining said area to the sole portion of the foot.

3. A stocking having a fashioned selvaged area joined to a complemental fashioned selva ged area, said areas together comprising a part of a tubular foot.

4. A stocking having a fashioned selvaged area at the top of the foot, and a complemental area of similar fabric joined thereto forming the remainder of the circumference, the aggregate number of needle wales in the part of the tube formed by said areas being the same throughout.

5. A knit article having parts side by side forming the whole width of the article and joined together by sutures characterized by recurrent eyelet holes each extending past a plurality of courses.

G. A knit fabric having side by side sections knit in the same direction joined together by a reciprocally interlooped suture in which interlooped stitches occur in adjoining needle wales at intervals only, said interlooped stitches being separated by one or more intervening courses not interlooped.

7. A tubular knit fabric having an area of reciprocally knit courses terminating in a free selvage one or more courses in extent and having the terminal loops of courses adjacent said selvages interlooped in integral sutures with terminal loops of courses of an adjoining section of fabric, said interlooped courses together extending about a circumference of the tube.

8. A knit article having a plurality of selvaged sections side by side together forming the whole circumference of a tubular section of the same number of wales in width throughout, said sections being joined by interlooped stitches in courses separated by one or more intervening courses not interlooped.

9. A stocking having a portion of its length made up of complemental areas of fabric symmetrically and oppositely narrowed and widened and interlooped at their meeting edges, said areas of fabric comprising recurrent complemental courses not interlooped at their meeting ends.

10. A seamless stocking having a circular knit leg, and in continuation of the wales of the back of the leg a heel-pocket formed of successively narrowed and widened areas joined by an integral suture, a selvaged fashioned area at the top of the foot in continuation of the wales of the front of the leg, and a selvaged area in continuation of the heel-pocket.

l1. A seamless stocking having a circular knit leg, and in continuation of the wales of the back of the leg a heel-pocket formed of successively narrowed and widened areas joined by an integral suture, a selvaged fashioned area at the top of the foot in continuation of the wales of the front of the leg, and a selvaged area in continuation of the heel-pocket, a circular knit section in continuation of said selvaged areas, and a toe-pocket.

1Q. A circular knit seamless stocking having a seamless leg of one kind of yarn, a selvaged area at the top of the foot of the same kind of yarn, a heel, a complemental selvaged area following the heel of a different kind of yarn, a seamless foot-body, and a toe portion.

13. A knit article comprising a tubular section the same number of wales in width throughout, said section having therein sutures inclined to the direction of said wales having eyelet holes separating the abutting ends of certain adjacent courses.

l-'l-. The art of knitting a'stocking, comprising the formation of a tubular section thereof by first-knitting a narrowed fiat section in continuation of a circumferential part of said stocking, the narrowing operation including the formation of selvages for certain courses by reversals in the same needle wale.

15. The art of knitting a stocking, comprising the formation of a tubular section thereof by first knitting a narrowed flat section in continuation of a circumferential part of said stocking, the operation includlil@ ing the formation of selvages for certain courses by reversals in the same needle Wale and thereafter knitting :i widened area in tegrally united to said narrowed area.

1G. The art of knitting a tube having circinnierential areas separated by sutures extending longitudinally oi the said tube and at an angle to the direction of the needle Wales, on needles or other instruments, which comprises knitting back and forth upon a segment of said instruments, then suspending the operation upon the instruments at the ends of said segment, then knitting back and forth a plurality of times at the remaining instruments of said segment and then again suspending knitting at the end instruments; and thereafter knitting back :1nd forth at that series of instruments previously unemployed, the operation including resuming knitting at the end of the series at those instruments at Which knitting was suspended, in the same order as the order of suspension.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ROBERT W. SCOTT.

Witnesses )toy C. SOUTHWORTH, MINOT G. CROZIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for vc cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

